Method and means for packaging cans



Oct. 15, 1957 H. G. GENTRY 2,809,484

METHOD AND MEANS FOR PACKAGING CANS V Filed June 25, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet '1 v N INVENTOR.

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4 TTORNEVS Oct. 15, 1957 H. G.- GENTRY METHOD AND MEANS FOR PACKAGING CANS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 25, 1956 INVENTOR.

HERMOND G. GENTEY BY 7Z5? a 94m! 4 TTORNEKS H. G. GENTRY METHOD AND MEANS FOR PACKAGING CANS 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 25, 1956 INVENTOR.

I HERMOND a. GENT/FY ATTORNEYS Oct. 15, 1957 H. G. GENTRY 2,809,484

METHOD AND MEANS FOR PACKAGING CANS I Filed June 25, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

HERMOND a. GEN TRY ATTORNEYS H. G. GENTRY METHOD AND MEANS FOR PACKAGING CANS Oct. 15, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed June 25, 1-956 INVENTOR. mmmoivo 62 6 EN 7w Y ite tastes Patented Oct. 15, 1957 METHOD AND MEANS non PACKAGING CANS Hermond G. Gentry, Atlanta, Ga, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Atlanta Paper Company, a corporation of Ohio Application .iune 25, 1956, Serial No. 593,627

6 Qiairns. (Cl. 53-26) This invention relates in general to the packaging of cans, and more particularly to an improved method and means for applying a paperboard Wrapper blank to a package group of cans in forming an open-ended type of can package.

A wrapper blank arran ed for forming a package of this sort is disclosed in copending application Serial No. 459,918, filed October 1954-, now U. S. Patent 2,786,572; and copending application Serial No. 476,650, filed December 21, 1954, now U. S. Patent 2,751,730, discloses in detail the manner in which cans may be packaged in this wrapper blank, together with apparatus for carrying out the packaging operation. Generally characterized, the wrapper blank disclosed in the above noted copending application is proportioned to fold about and overlap for securing beneath a package group of cans arranged in two aligned rows, and is formed with positioning apertures or slots located to provide openings spaced along the side edges of the resulting package through which the chines of the packaged cans may project sufficiently to hold the cans in place.

In order to form a secure package with a wrapper blank of this sort it is necessary to have the blank secured tightly about the package group of cans so that the positioning apertures will hold the cans effectively. The method and means of the present invention provides for accomplishing this result by arranging the can group during the packaging operation so that one row thereof is raised sufficiently to dispose the can chines in this row above the chines of the cans in the other row, and maintaining the rows of the can group disposed with the chines of the cans in the raised row nested above those of the other row while folding and securing the wrapper about the can group, so that the cans in the resulting package act to keep the package tight through the tendency of the cans in the raised row to slip off of the can chines in the other row and thereby tighten any slackness in the secured wrapper.

The method and means provided according to the present invention for this purpose is described in further detail below in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a partial side elevation, largely diagrammatic, of a packaging apparatus with which the method of the present invention may be carried out, and in which the means of the present invention may be employed;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding side elevation of the remainder of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view corresponding to Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevation of the means employed for completing the folding of a wrapper blank about a package group of cans according to the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a plan view corresponding generally to Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic illustration of the manner in which a can group is disposed according to the present invention to have a wrapper blank folded thereabout;

Fig. 7 is a corresponding illustration showing the folding of the wrapper blank substantially completed; and

Fig. 8 is a corresponding illustration of the manner in which the can group is further handled according to the present invention while the wrapper blank is secured there- Referring now in detail to the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a packaging apparatus of the type disclosed by the above noted copending application Serial No. 476,650, in which a suitable frame structure 10 is arranged to carry means for: receiving at one end thereof the articles, such as cans, to be packaged; separating these articles into package groups; associating wrapper blanks with each of these package groups; and folding and securing each wrapper blank about its related package group; all while the articles being packaged are maintained traveling continuously toward the other end of the frame structure at which the completed packages are discharged.

The articles to be packaged are received at the left hand end of the frame structure it), as seen in Fig. 1, on a conveyor 11, preferably of the chain type, arranged to present a flat smooth surface at its upper reach on which the articles may slide when caused to but on which the articles will otherwise follow the conveyor movement so as to be fed into the packaging operation. The conveyor 11 is preferably driven at a rate faster than the rate at which the articles travel subsequently during packaging, so as to maintain a continuous supply of articles eeding thereon to the subsequent packaging means; and

a separating means, as indicated at 12, and as disclosed in copending application Serial No. 488,291, filed February 15, 1955, now U. S. Patent 2,752,027, is arranged in relation to the conveyor 11 for separating the articles being fed thereon into two rows.

Above the conveyor 11, and spaced toward its discharge end, a blank feeding means 13, such as is disclosed in c0- pending application Serial No. 593,605, filed June 25, 1956, is arranged to support a stacked supply of the paperboard wrapper blanks W transversely for feeding successively across the top of the articles to be packaged as they are advanced by the conveyor 11. As the wrapper blanks W are fed from the blank feeding means 13 each blank W is successively transferred to the control of feeder chains, indicated in Fig. 1 at 14, located at each side of the conveyor 11 and on which spaced hooks (not shown) are carried to engage the trailing edges of the successively fed blanks W for separate serial feeding thereof in proper packaging alignment with the articles traveling on the conveyor 11.

The upper reaches of the feeder chains 14 are spaced above the conveyor 11 to extend substantially level with the tops of the articles being fed thereon; and, just beyond the blank feeding means 13, the articles being fed on the conveyor 11 are separated into package groups aligned with the blanks W on the feeder chains 14- by means of separating plungers 15 carried on spaced chains 16 (compare Figs. 1 and 2 with Fig. 3) at each side of the conveyor 11 for extension transversely to efiect the package group separation and to maintain the separated package groups traveling continuously at the driven speed of the carrying chains 16.

The separated package groups are then transferred from the conveyor 11 onto a pair of feed belts 1'7 arranged for supporting the respective article rows in the package groups, and the package groups and aligned wrapper blanks W pass under an overhead weighting structure 17' for maintaining the alignment thereof as the separating plungers 315 are withdrawn to allow clearance for downward folding of the wrapper blank W over the sides of the package groups at a first folding station 28.

A second series of separating plungers 19 carried on chains 20 are then extended transversely between the package groups again, withend portions of the Wrapper blanks W now extending downwardly below the feed belts 17 for overlapping beneath the package groups. To accomplish this overlapping the package groups are advanced from the feed belts 17 through a second folding means at 21, and are then finally carried past a locking station 22 where the overlapped portions of the wrapper blanks W are secured, as disclosed in copending application Serial No. 593,604, filed June 25, 1956, to complete the packaging operation.

As'already noted above, the present invention is concerned in particular with the packaging of cans having chines at the ends thereof on apparatus of the type described above, and provides for the formation of a tight and secure can package by arranging for nesting of the can chines as the wrapper blank W is folded about and secured on the can group being packaged. For this purpose, the second folding means 21 is formed according to the present invention by an elongated stationary plate member 23 with folding rods 24 arranged below and at each side thereof (as seen best in Figs. 4 and 5) in the manner disclosed in the previously identified copending application Serial No. 476,650.

As disclosed in this copending application, the plate, member 23 has an end portion adjacent the feed belts 17 wide enough to support, but not wider than, the two rows of cans inthe can group being packaged and a narrowedopposite end. The top face of the plate member 23 is further formed, according to the present invention, with a raised longitudinal portion 25 along one side for supporting one of the can package rows with the chines of the cans C therein raised and disposed above the chines of the cans C in the other row of the can group (see Figs. 6 and 7). Guide members arranged at each side of the can group and aligned wrapper W thereon, as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 at 26, may accordingly be employed readily for maintaining the chines of the raised row of cans C nested over the chines of the cans C in the other row of each can group as it is slid lengthwise on the plate member 23 by the separating plungers 19, which are driven through their carrying chains for this purpose. The folding rods 24 act, as the can groups .areslid along the plate member 23 in this manner, to fold the downwardly extending portions of the wrapper blank W inwardly for overlapping beneath the can group as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, so that the folding is completed when the can group is carried off the plate member 23 to be advanced past the locking station 22.

The handling of the can groups with the chines of the rows of cans C and C thereof internested is continued beyond the plate member 23 in feeding the can groups through the locking station 22 and is commenced on thefeed belts 17 as the can groups are advanced toward the plate member 23. For this purpose, the feed belts 17 have the top reaches thereof trained over a pair of coaxially mounted idler pulleys 27 and 27' adjacent the plate member 23, the pulley 27 for the feed belt 17 aligned with the raised longitudinal portion 25 of the plate member 23 being of larger diameter for disposing the upper reach of the feed belt 17 thereon at the level of the raised plate member portion 25, while the other idler pulley 27 is proportioned in diameter to carry the other'feed belt 17 level with the remaining surface of plate member 23 (see Figs. 4 and 5). Similarly arranged idler pulleys, as indicated at 28 and 28' in Fig. 1, are also provided to carry the feed belts 17 at the other end of their upper reaches, while the feed belts 17 are driven at equal linear speeds from a common drive pulley at 29. 7

At the locking station 22, the wrapper enclosed can groups are advanced or fed by lug members 39 and 3t) slidably arranged on pin elements 31 extending laterally from sprocket chains 32 (see Fig; 8) so that the lug members and 30 may enter apertures (not shown) formed in the overlapping end portions of the wrapper blanks W and draw them tightly about the can groups for securing thereon at the locking station 22, as disclosed fully in the previously noted copending application Serial No. 593,604, filed June 25, 1956. As fed past the locking station 22 in this manner, the nested arrangement of the chines in the can groups is maintained by forming the lug members 30 aligned with the raised row of cans C in a greater height than that of the lug members 3% so as to support the can groups with the can rows C and C thereof nested in the relation in which they are received from the plate member 23, and thereby allow the wrapper blanks W 'to be secured about each can group with the can rows C and C still nested and consequently disposed for spreading laterally to remove any slackness in the secured wrapper blank W.

The present invention has been described in detail above for purposes of illustration only and is not intended to be limited by this description or otherwise except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for packaging cans having chines at the ends thereof in an open-ended paperboard wrapper formed from a rectangular blank proportioned to fold about and overlap for securing beneath a group of said cans arranged, in two aligned rows with positioning apertures located in said wrapper for projection of the can chines therethrough to hold said cans in place, said apparatus comprising an elongated stationary plate member having one end portion wide enough to support both aligned rows of said can group and a narrowed opposite end, the top face of said plate member having a raised longitudinal portion at one side thereof for supporting one row of said'can group with the chines thereon disposed above the chines of the cans in the other row, means for causing said can group to slide lengthwise on said plate member from said wide end toward the narrowed end thereof with an aligned wrapper blank positioned transversely across the top and folded downwardly over the sides of said can group to extend below said plate member at each side, means for maintaining the rows of said can group disposed with the chines in said raised row nested above the chines of the cans in said other row while said can group is slid on said plate member, and means disposed in relation to said plate member for progressively folding said extending blank portions inwardly for overlapping beneath said can group as it is slid on said plate member with the chines of said can rows maintained in nested relation. 7 2. Apparatus for packaging cans as defined in claim 1 and further characterized in that conveying means is arranged at the wide end of said plate member for delivering said can group thereto, said conveying means comprising a pair of endless conveyor belts spaced for supporting the respective rows of said can group and'having the upper reaches thereof extended over idler pulleys in lengthwise alignment with said plate member, the respective idler pulleys for each conveyor belt being mounted coaxially and the pulleys carrying the belt for the raised row of said can group being of larger diameter for disposing the upper reach thereof level with the raised longitudinal portion of said plate member..

3. Apparatus for packaging cans having chines at the ends thereof in an open-ended paperboard wrapper formed from a rectangular blank proportioned to fold about and overlap for securing beneath a group of saidcans arranged in two aligned rows, with positioningapen tures located in said wrapper for projection of the can chines therethrough to hold said cans in place, said apparatus comprising a pair of endless belts spaced for continuously conveying a supply of cans to be packaged with the cans aligned serially on the respective belts in two adjacent rows with said aligned rows separated transversely in successive can groups, and with an aligned wrapper blank positioned transversely across the top of each can group, an elongated stationary plate member having one end portion wide enough to support both aligned rows of said can groups and tapering therefrom to an opposite end, the top face of said plate member having a raised longitudinal portion at one side thereof for supporting one row of said can groups with the chines thereon disposed above the chines of the cans in the other row, and said plate member being disposed to receive said can groups from said endless belts at the wide end thereof for sliding lengthwise thereon towards said opposite narrow end, said endless belts each being extended over a pair of idler pulleys in lengthwise alignment with said plate member, the respective idler pulleys for said belts being mounted coaxially, and the pulleys carrying the belt aligned with the raised top face portion of said plate member being of larger diameter for disposing said belt level with said top face portion, and means for maintaining the raised rows of said can groups disposed with the chines thereon nested above the chines of the cans in said other row while folding each aligned wrapper blank downwardly over the sides and overlapping said blank beneath each can group as said can groups are traveling on said belts and plate member.

4. Apparatus for packaging cans as defined in claim 1 and further characterized in that the overlapping portions of said wrapper have apertures formed therein for gripping to draw said wrapper tightly about said can group for securing, and travelling lug members are arranged to rise within said apertures as each wrapper enclosed can group is slid off said plate member for drawing said wrapper tight and feeding the wrapper enclosed can group past a securing station, the traveling lug members for the apertures in the overlapping wrapper portion below the raised row of said can group being of increased height for maintaining the nested relation of the rows of said can group as delivered from said plate member.

5. Apparatus for packaging cans having chines at the ends thereof in an open-ended paperboard wrapper formed from a rectangular blank proportioned to told about and overlap for securing beneath a group of said cans arranged in two aligned rows with positioning apertures located in said wrapper for projection of the can chines therethrough to hold said cans in place, said apparatus comprising an elongated stationary plate member having a raised longitudinal portion at one side thereof for supporting one row of said can group with the chines thereon disposed above the chines of the cans in the other row, means for causing said can group to slide lengthwise on said plate member with an aligned wrapper blank positioned transversely across the top and folded downwardly over the sides of said can group to extend below said plate member at each side, means for maintaining the rows of said can group disposed with the chines in said raised row nested above the chines of the cans in said other row while said can group is slid on said plate member, means disposed in relation to said plate member for progressively folding said extending blank portions inwardly for overlapping beneath said can group as it is slid on said plate member with the chines of said can rows maintained in nested relation, and means for securing the wrapper about said group while maintaining the can chines in said nested relation and with the can chines in said raised row arranged in parallel offset relation to the chines in said other row.

6. The method of packaging cans having chines at the ends thereof in an open-ended paperboard wrapper formed from a rectangular blank proportioned to fold about and overlap beneath a group of said cans arranged in two aligned rows with positioning apertures located in said wrapper for projection of the can chines therethrough to hold said cans in place, which method comprises supporting said can group with the rows thereof aligned and parallel and with one row thereof raised sufficiently to dispose the can chines in said row above the chines of the cans in the other row, feeding said can group and a wrapper blank into position for folding said wrapper about said can group and overlapping it therebeneath while maintaining the rows of said can group disposed with the chines in said raised row nested above the chines in said other row, and folding and securing said wrapper about said can group while maintaining the can chines in said nested relation, whereby the chines of said cans in the nested relation thereof project into the positioning apertures of the secured wrapper.

References Cited in the file'of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,351,596 Brogden June 20, 1944 2,646,656 Wahl July 28, 1953 2,662,356 Swafiord Dec. 15, 1953 2,796,709 Bolding June 25, 1957 

